Thanks to An Apple
by Literary Melody
Summary: Just a little one-shot. Dastamina fluff that takes place after the movie. This is dedicated to one of my lovely followers, though all are welcomed and encouraged to read it. Please read and review


**Hello everyone! And welcome to this other little thingy! :) This is just a little one-shot that I am dedicating to my lovely follower, bellathedisenchanted. For those of you who are not aware, she was the 100th reviewer in my other PoP story, Persian Empire, and I told ****her that as a little kind of prize, I would write a one-shot in her honor. She came up with a few of the ideas of this chapter, I am only writing them, so she deserves some credit too. :) The apple scene at the end though, is mine. Just throwing that out there. Haha. **

**This is a post-movie one, straight off the movie, so you don't need to read my other story to follow this one at all, seeing as how that one is going to have a different ending. But if you wanna read it, please do. I am told that it's good. :)**

**So here we are, and I hope you like it, bella! :D**

* * *

Dastan was elated.

He had never before in his life felt more happy than he had at that very moment. His father, the man who had raised him since he was a boy, was alive and breathing, completely unaware that he had died in another life. Garsiv had not been killed. Tus' throat had not been sliced away gruesomely. His family was all alive and whole. Except for his uncle, Nizam. After everything that had happened, in this world and in the other, he no longer considered that man family. He was dead, and all of his evil plotting was over. His family was free of him and his ungratefulness.

And then, there was Tamina. For a moment, he closed his eyes, envisioning her falling to her death, crying out his name in fear, her tiny hand still stretching in vain to reach his. That had killed him. He could not do anything, just watch her die.

The Prince opened his blue eyes, leaving that thought behind him. Tamina was alive! She was not dead, and she was still just as stubborn as he had remembered her to be. She was unaware of the time they had shared in that other life, but Dastan knew that through it all, he was going to be alright. She had fallen in love with him once, just over a few days even. He knew that she would fall for him again. And he would wait.

But he wouldn't wait forever. He missed her, the Tamina who had smiled coyly at him whenever he had teased her. The other Tamina. The Tamina that the current one would become. There had to be a way to help her fall faster, for even though he had promised himself to wait, he knew that one day, he was going to snap.

The young man stood from his spot, the fabric of his cloak brushing against his dark skin faintly. He turned quickly and walked down the hall, searching for the Princess.

He walked only briefly, Tamina eventually showing herself by walking into him from another hall. Her brown eyes glared up at him, however once she saw who it was, her soft eyes losing some of their anger, leaving only weariness in its place.

"You look tired," he observed, surveying her, his eyes lingering on her full lips a little longer than what was deemed appropriate.

"And you are in my way, Prince Dastan. Move," she responded nonchalantly, as if shooing a fly away. He didn't move.

Dastan stared at her, watching as she avoided his eyes and only looked around her like she was in a hurry. "Tamina, we are to be married," he said carefully. "There is no need to use such formal titles."

She sighed dramatically and rested her hands at her side in a defeated manner. "Fine. But you are still in my way. Move." He raised his eyebrows. "Please." He smirked playfully and she returned it with a little glare. "Move, Dastan!" After him still not moving away, he heard an annoyed growl coming from her. "You are so stubborn!" she yelled at him, and finally pushed past him, though he followed dutifully.

"As are you, Princess," he said playfully.

"Dastan, you are trying my patience," she told him from in front of her. "I suggest you not." He could hear the bored frown in her voice, and quite quickly, he changed his attitude.

"What's wrong, Tamina?" he asked, and slowly she came to a stop in front of him and turned to face him.

"Unlike you, Dastan, I have things that I am obliged to do as a monarch, and those things must be attended to. And unlike you again, I don't have two brothers and a father to share the load with. I only have myself, so forgive me, but I don't have any time for your little games." He snorted and she glared at him. "Care to tell me what you find so funny about my predicament?"

"You have always been like this. Always having more important things to do," he said witha joyful smile.

She raised a perfect eyebrow, looking mildly curious now. "And how do you know that I have always been like this? You have only known me for two days, Dastan. That is a little fast to be claiming such things."

The Prince gulped, suddenly angry with himself for letting such a piece of information slip from his traitorous lips. He knew that one day, he would tell her everything that had happened between them on their other little journey, but now, the wound was too fresh, and this Tamina did not know him like he knew her. Now was not the right time. "I meant that ever since I have met you, you have been like this," he said slowly. That wasn't a lie, after all. "Have you even been to your own kitchens?" he asked, trying to get away from that subject, and he had an idea. She was stressed, and she needed to unwind.

Tamina looked incredibly confused and cocked her head to the side slightly, looking at him through two little slits. "What has that got to do with anything?"

Dastan shook his head, smiling. "That doesn't matter. Have you?"

She nodded slowly. "Of course, I've been to the kitchens! I live here, Dastan!" she said in a bored tone.

He nodded and offered her his hand. She looked at it for a moment, dilberating on whether she should take it or not. After a moment she scrunched her nose and took his hand, like it was against her better judgement. "What are we doing?" she asked quietly as they walked away, heading for the kitchens.

"Walking," he shrugged. She sent him a look that said that she was not amused, though he saw the corner of her lips twitch. "We're going to the kitchens."

"Not 'going'. 'Doing'. What are we doing, Dastan? I have things that I need to do," she began, though Dastan turned to her swiftly and placed a finger on her lips, silencing her effectively.

"Do you trust me?" he asked her, looking so deep into her eyes, she felt as though he was looking in her soul. She dilberated that question for a moment. Did she trust Dastan? He was the Persian that had paraded into her city, destroying all of its eternal beauty, he had stolen the dagger, and now he was to become her husband in just a few days. But he had also told her that he had changed, and he had returned the dagger to her, meanfully even, like he had understood what the small piece of weaponry could do. Surely that was impossible though. After another moment, she gave a careful nod, and they continued walking.

Once they arrived in the kitchens, the cooks stopped and looked up from their pots and stopped stirring their concoctions. They looked at her and Dastan, obviously confused as to what they were doing there in their little realm. She looked up at Dastan, expecting him to dismiss them, though he paid them no heed and only searched the kitchen, standing on his toes. Tamina looked back to the cooks and nodded her head, gesturing for everyone to continue what they were doing. They did, though they all seemed a little more nervous. Tamina had not been in the kitchens since she was a little girl. Dastan probably knew these kitchens better than she did, she thought to herself.

Finally, he smiled down at her, and whispered, "Come on." He squeezed her hand, which she realized ws still planted in his calloused one. She walked with him, but stared down at their hands, their fingers entwined loosely. They walked a little further, before they came to a part of the kitchens that were devoid of any people, a few pots laying in a sink and wooden spoons hanging from stone walls. It was a peaceful little place, Tamina noted, the air cool (as they were below the palace and away from the wretched heat), and small torches surrounded the empty room, giving the place a cozy feel.

Dastan pulled her along in the room, and finally, he sat her down in a wooden chair. It certainly wasn't a chair that a Princess would be accustomed to sitting in, but she didn't pay attention to the furniture much. She watched him and he walked into the kitchen. He turned to the closet in the back of the room and disappeared inside of it for a few minutes. She heard several things fall from their shelves and a series of varied curses ensued, and the Princess could not help but laugh at his clumsiness. It was hard to believe that someone as talented as him with a sword, could be so uncoordinated in the world of kitchenry.

He came out after a moment, his arms full of all sorts of foods. He saw her giggling obviously, for he raised an eyebrow in question. "Do I amuse you, Princess?" he said in a huffed voice as he continued to struggle with the food in his wobbly hands

She nodded her head and walked to him, taking some of the things out of his hands. "Do you cook?" she asked, looking at the ingrediants on the table. From what she could see, he had grabbed something from every food group there was. From fruits, he had grabbed a golden apple, a now bruised peach, and a kiwi. From vegetables, he had gathered a handful of carrots, and three different colored onions. He had grabbed a slab of salted pork and three loaves of bread. Then, in a little woven basket, was a bottle of their best wine and at least three handfuls of some sweets.

Dastan shook his head, wiping his forehead of the invisible sweat that he must have accumulated. "I can't cook. I just though that we could eat a little. Unfortunately, I didn't know what you liked, so I grabbed a little bit of everything," he said. Then he himself sat down on the floor and took off his boots.

"So you thought that I would eat onions?" she teased; she held an arm out gesturing to them.

He considered that for a moment. "I don't know. Now, sit down."

"There is a table just right there, Dastan." She pointed behind her to the wobbly table.

"Just sit down, Tamina," he told her in a bored manner. She sat down, starightening her dress a little and investigated the food that he had brought out. "I'll eat the peach since it's a little bruised." He grabbed the peach and bit into it, juice beginning to trickle down his bearded chin temptingly, though Tamina was quick to shake those inappropriate thoughts from her head.

"And why would it be bruised?" she asked playfully.

He shrugged. "It tried to run away," he put simply.

She nodded her head. "I hate the peaches that do that," she deadpanned, smiling when he nodded enthusiastically. She reached for the apple and bit into it, giving a little "mmm" when the juices filled her mouth.

"Apples were always my favorite fruit," he said after a moment. "They remind me of the time that I met my father. I was out buying one at the time at the marketplace." He took another bite of his peach.

"So the rumors are true then? You aren't a physical son of the King?" she asked, though the way she said it, it was more of a statement.

"Yes, but that's another story, Princess. Enjoy your apple before I decide to eat it," he smirked.

She chuckled. "You wouldn't steal an apple from me," she told him.

"I just told you that apples are my favorite fruit. I could very well try to take a bite of it. It looks good," he teased though he made no advances towards her.

She grinned slyly at him and took another bite of the apple, moaning in exaggeration when the juices filled her mouth entirely. She let those juices drip down her chin, knowing that he was looking at her. She did not make any eye contact, only taking another bite of the apple.

And then all at once, he was on top of her, wrestling her for the apple in her sticky hand. So shocked, she went limp, and he quickly took the apple out of her hand. He bit into the apple and smiled happily, supporting himself on just one hand. "I told you that I might want a bite," he told her cheekily after he swallowed the fruit.

He looked at her for a moment, and then the both of them realized how close they were to each other. He was still on top of her, and quite quickly, the thoughts of the apple were abandoned. He dropped said apple and just looked at her, taking in her perfectly sculpted face. Cautiously, she raised a hand to his own face and traced the shape, her fingers dancing over the little scar on his right cheek. He sighed and leaned into her hand, closing his eyes and just enjoying her touch. Even in the other world, she had never touched his face, and now that she had, he felt as if he had never been touched before that moment. His face felt like fire wherever her fingers lingered, and with his eyes closed, his sense of touch was heightened, making it even more powerful and meaningful for him.

After a moment, she pulled her hand away, and his eyes opened again, but the moment had not yet left the two young royals. They stared at one another, their eyes locked together, both mesmerized by what they saw in the other's orbs. Slowly he leaned down, his nose touching hers. Her beautiful brown eyes widened in surprise, but she did not protest and say anything. She only closed her eyes, allowing him to continue. Gently, Dastan pressed his lips to hers, catching hers in between his. _Now, _he had never felt so happy in his life. The feeling that he had been experiencing about his brothers and father didn't even come _close_ to what he was feeling now.

He felt her arms wrap slowly around his neck, pulling his front to match hers, and both noticed then that their bodies were meant for each other. They fit like two pieces of a puzzle, and now they had both met their match, the piece they would be with for the rest of their lives.

* * *

**And there we are! **

**I must say, I enjoyed writing this very much. Kinda cute, you know? So, please review! I really like reviews, so yeah...I guess that's all that I can say about that, right?**

**Bellathedisenchanted, I hope you loved this one-shot as much as I did, and it was awesome to be given the opportunity to step out of Perisan Empire for a little and just write a cute little love scene for these two. Thanks for giving me that!**

**Love you all! And no worries, Persian Empire fans, I will still be updating that story tonight. Just thought I'd get this one done first. :)**

**- Books**


End file.
